4 Ways to Use Facebook for Professional Purposes

If you’re looking for cat memes, personality quizzes, and old high school friends, you know Facebook is the virtual place to go. But did you know many people are also using it for business?

In HubSpot’s State of Inbound 2017 report, 74% of survey respondents said they use Facebook for professional purposes—not that far off from the 78% who said they use LinkedIn for professional reasons.

Facebook reports 1.28 billion daily active users. That means hundreds of millions of people are doing something work related on Facebook every single day. But what is it they’re doing, exactly? And how are they reaching other individuals relevant to their businesses or professions? There are several ways to engage with strangers, visitors, leads, customers, and promoters. There are also ways to stay connected with colleagues and others in your industry who want to network or share valuable ideas and information. Here are some of the ways Facebook users take advantage of the platform’s features to get down to business:

1. Personal Connections

The lines between the personal and the professional has been blurred not only among platforms but across profile types and the types of connections we make.

Clients and colleagues send “friend” requests on Facebook, and individuals share professional content from their personal profiles. The content users share from personal accounts represents a mix of their interests—from posts that are just for fun to sharing articles about their companies or industries in general.

2. Their Company Page

Professionals who help manage their company pages can find a lot to do on Facebook. They can post original company content, share posts from other pages, engage with customer posts on their page, respond to messages, and see what other pages in their fields are up to.

As a marketing tool, the company page has become much more than a place to share deals and promotions. It’s a place to share stories, spread awareness, and share knowledge. It’s also an increasingly popular place to share video. In fact, half of the C-level executives surveyed by HubSpot said they want to add Facebook video to their marketing efforts in the upcoming year.

3. Facebook Ads

Those using Facebook for business may be boosting posts or creating more formal ads. Facebook’s numerous advertising options include ways to increase awareness, consideration, and conversions.

According to the HubSpot survey, 63% of marketers said their greatest challenge is generating traffic and leads. Lead forms is one Facebook ad option, but you can also create ads to direct people to your website and landing pages.

4. Groups

There are countless business and professional groups on Facebook where members can interact, network, and share information. Groups can have a range of privacy settings from secret to closed to open to the public.

You can join groups or create groups to network, inform clients, share information with colleagues, present leading ideas to members of your industry, or any other number of reasons.

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You may be surprised to discover that so many are using Facebook for professional purposes. Fortunately, it also means there’s a myriad of opportunities to connect with customers and others related to your business.